The AXA Achievementsm Scholarship, in association with U.S. News & World Report, is a program of AXA Achievement – a philanthropic program dedicated to providing resources that help make college possible through access and advice. AXA Achievement is funded by the AXA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AXA Equitable.

To learn more visit www.axa-achievement.com

Are you active in your community? Have you led or initiated a project that benefits others? Have you overcome personal challenges or difficulties to achieve your goals?

If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes” then you may already be an AXA Achiever.Find out what it takes to win an AXA Achievementsm Scholarship. If you’re headed for college, you could be one of 52 high school seniors nationwide who qualify.

42$10,000 State Winners

10 $25,000National Winners

$670,000 in Scholarships

AXA Achievementsm The Official Scholarship

of the U.S. News America’s Best

Colleges Guidebook

Over

$22.8 millionawarded to more than 5,100

students

Deadline to apply:

December 15, 2013

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EASY! ONLINE APPLICATION

Tab StickersPaying for college is one of the biggest risks families face – AXA Achievementsm can help.

Use these stickers to tab your college choices inside this issue.

Determine college affordability before your child applies to schools to ensure the whole family is on the same page.

Get an early grasp on college costs with net price calculators,

which use family information to estimate what you’ll pay.

Applying for scholarships takes time, so apply early.

Don’t discount the smaller ones – they can add up to a lot!

The FAFSA4caster tool on www.fafsa.ed.gov estimates

how much financial aid you can expect to get from

the government.

Visit us atwww.axa-achievement.com

If borrowing, start with federal student loans, which come with

borrower protections and locked interest rates.

Research federal student loan repayment options, including

Public Service Loan Forgiveness, to alleviate

some of your debt.

Consider 529 plans in your state first. Some states match individual

contributions, which means more money for college.

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Filing your FAFSA can be confusing. Don’t be afraid to

call the government’s help line: (800) 433-3243.

Public universities and community colleges can be among the best

options. When it comes to higher education, the most expensive school is not always the best.

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Don’t Risk a College Education

Filling out the FAFSA Helps You Minimize BorrowingIt’s a misconception that filling out the Free Applica-tion for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the fast track to student loan debt. You risk losing need based grants and scholarships from the university. The reason? The univer-sities you selected on the FAFSA to receive your informa-tion use it to evaluate your financial aid eligibility.

To avoid risking losing need-based aid you could receive:

1. Fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible. Some need based aid is limited in numbers and available on a first come first serve basis for those who qualify. For instance, a university could have a limited amount of grant aid. Applying late could cost you that money.

2. Select schools. Always select schools that are being considered on the form. Otherwise, the information won’t arrive to the colleges who need it. Amend the FAFSA form online if school choices change.

3. Fill out the special circumstances forms when needed. Whether you’re applying for next year or are already in college, you need to fill out a special circum-stances form if your income changes due to a number of reasons including a medical situation, a layoff, or a salary reduction.

4. Practice filling out the FAFSA on the FAFSA4caster site from the department of education as early as middle school. It’s designed to roughly estimate finan-cial aid years in advance.

5. Teens should follow up with schools to make sure information is received and to check on financial aid availability. Bonus: you may find out about a scholarship you previously didn’t know about during the phone call.

Net Price Calculators Can Help Estimate College Costs, Avoiding the Risk Associated with Unanticipated Expenses

Choosing universities with the lowest listed tuition prices sometimes can cost you more money. A private school with tuition that’s four times a state school’s could offer enough scholarships and university grants to become the cheaper alternative. How do you find out which schools offer the best financial aid packages before applying for college? Use net price calculators available on most college websites to estimate what you would pay based on individual circumstances.

1. Narrow college choices down to ten by factors such as majors, campus size and internship place-ment. Teens should visit with their high school coun-selor to start the process of college selection and career exploration.

2. Students should request information from each school on what’s important to them. For instance, they can and should call the career center to ask about graduate employment rates.

3. Visit the websites of your top 10 college choices and enter information such as family income and number of children in college. To find the net price calculator on a university website, enter net price calcu-lator into the search box on the school’s homepage.

4. Call financial aid offices at the top 5 choices to see if there are any changes in grant awards for the year the student will be attending. Available funds change, so you want to make sure you factor in the most recent information into your family’s application decisions.

5. Use the Net price calculator as a baseline. Teens could also qualify for merit-based educational assistance.

AXA Achievementsm is proud to partner with Scholarship America®, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit private sector scholarship and educational support organizations. This program is administered by Scholarship Management Servicessm, a program of Scholarship America. www.scholarshipamerica.org.

“AXA Achievementsm” is a service mark of the AXA Foundation. The “AXA Achievementsm Scholarship” program is not associated with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s “Achievement Scholarship®” program.

Learn to estimate college costs, and promote financial stability to work toward eliminating the risk of not being able to fund a college education.

www.axa-achievement.com